Looking hard at this before we leap. We have been spoiled with our S2 and Lifetime service. We have Comcast analog cable and OTA HD reception for the HD TV. At this point, Comcast's HD offerings don't expand much beyond OTA unless you step up to the premium channels. (Noteable exception would be ESPN HD for Mondaynight football.)

Will the TiVo HD work with the analog cable and HD OTA, without any Comcast cablecard/HD upgrades?

How long is the 3yr pre-pay offer likely to last? Already missed the CC discount on the box.

Looking hard at this before we leap. We have been spoiled with our S2 and Lifetime service. We have Comcast analog cable and OTA HD reception for the HD TV. At this point, Comcast's HD offerings don't expand much beyond OTA unless you step up to the premium channels. (Noteable exception would be ESPN HD for Mondaynight football.)

Will the TiVo HD work with the analog cable and HD OTA, without any Comcast cablecard/HD upgrades?

How long is the 3yr pre-pay offer likely to last? Already missed the CC discount on the box.

This is exactly how I use my TiVoHD, and it works wonderfully. The 3 yr prepay for $299 has been around for a while (I'm thinking ~4-6 months) and *should* still be there if you wait a month or two, but beyond that, there are no guarantees.

I just got a letter from Comcast saying that my HD DVR rental is going to increase to $12.95 (from $9.95). This is at a time when that particular DVR is sitting in my living room is locked up (it does that a lot). Said DVR is actually only a week old, the DVR we'd been using for a couple of years died (losing all the recorded shows).

So except for missing the CC sale, this appears to be perfect timing for getting a TiVo HD. I would love to find one at some sort of discount.

I just got a letter from Comcast saying that my HD DVR rental is going to increase to $12.95 (from $9.95). This is at a time when that particular DVR is sitting in my living room is locked up (it does that a lot). Said DVR is actually only a week old, the DVR we'd been using for a couple of years died (losing all the recorded shows).

So except for missing the CC sale, this appears to be perfect timing for getting a TiVo HD. I would love to find one at some sort of discount.

Just go to CC and buy it with the $40 off coupon. or if you prefer go to BB and have them price match it. I picked up 2 last nite myself 524.00 out the door

I came home from work hoping to watch jay leno and lettermen. (i work second shift)
Only to find a white screen I unplugged it and plugged it back it, It seems to fixed it. Anyone else have this problem?

I just got a letter from Comcast saying that my HD DVR rental is going to increase to $12.95 (from $9.95). This is at a time when that particular DVR is sitting in my living room is locked up (it does that a lot). Said DVR is actually only a week old, the DVR we'd been using for a couple of years died (losing all the recorded shows).

So except for missing the CC sale, this appears to be perfect timing for getting a TiVo HD. I would love to find one at some sort of discount.

Im paying about 20.00 for my charter dvr. I pay 12.95 for the dvr and a 6.00 dvr recorder fee.

I'm looking at Tivo as a premium since the cost will exceed what I pay for the Comcast DVR by a fair amount.

And I'm fine with that, as long as they get the software up to speed over the next 90 days and resolve some of the early issues (pixelization on channels, slow menus, no TTG, no MRV, etc).

If they can get a polished software load out for this thing by Q4 then Tivo is going to have a very merry Xmas!

tootal2 said they were paying $20 a month. TiVo costs $7 a month and that leaves $13 which works out to over $150 a year. Which more than covers a TiVo after two years. On top of that the TiVo is much better than the current Comcast offerings. To me that makes the TiVoHD well worth it over the Comcast offering.
I think the Series3 is worth it over the Comast offerings and that costs alot more. Which makes the TiVoHD a steal in my opinion.

tootal2 said they were paying $20 a month. TiVo costs $7 a month and that leaves $13 which works out to over $150 a year. Which more than covers a TiVo after two years. On top of that the TiVo is much better than the current Comcast offerings. To me that makes the TiVoHD well worth it over the Comcast offering.
I think the Series3 is worth it over the Comast offerings and that costs alot more. Which makes the TiVoHD a steal in my opinion.

You only pay $7 a month if you already have another TiVo. For the rest of us it's $8.33 a month if we do a three year contract.

tootal2 said they were paying $20 a month. TiVo costs $7 a month and that leaves $13 which works out to over $150 a year. Which more than covers a TiVo after two years. On top of that the TiVo is much better than the current Comcast offerings. To me that makes the TiVoHD well worth it over the Comcast offering.
I think the Series3 is worth it over the Comast offerings and that costs alot more. Which makes the TiVoHD a steal in my opinion.

Two points. 1) The $7 thing is only available if you have another Tivo. Otherwise it's $13 a month or $299 prepaid, and then only if you sign a three year contract. No contracts with cable. 2) $20 is high for a cable DVR. Mine is $11.95 a month.

That said, I'm still going to eventually go with the TiVoHD (because I have another TiVo and I qualify for the MSD). The extra cost is worth it. The present value difference between $11.95 over 36 months and $299 plus $6.95+$1.50 over 36 months is about $180. Spreading that back out over the 36 months makes it the equivalent of about $5.45 extra a month.

Comcast would have to raise the DVR price to $16.95 a month in order for the cost between its DVR and TiVo's to be equal over 36 months for someone with MSD.

If the TiVoHD actually lasts 48 months, and all the prices stay the same, then it's only a $147 difference, or $4.41 a month.

If I didn't qualify for MSD, I'd pay $299 for three years prepaid + $299 for the box = $598 + the present value of $1.50 for the second cable card for 36 months. Difference between that and the present value of the cable DVR ($11.95 for 36 months) is $250. So, the question for new people who want DVRs is, essentially, is it worth an extra $250 to go from the cable DVR to the TiVoHD.

They would cost exactly the same if the Comcast DVR cost were $18.95 a month.

[QUOTE=aindik]Two points. 1) The $7 thing is only available if you have another Tivo. Otherwise it's $13 a month or $299 prepaid, and then only if you sign a three year contract. No contracts with cable. 2) $20 is high for a cable DVR. Mine is $11.95 a month.

I got a dvr recorder fee of 6.00 on top of the 12.95 dvr fee. Look in your bill you might have a fee like that to.

I got a dvr recorder fee of 6.00 on top of the 12.95 dvr fee. Look in your bill you might have a fee like that to.

I don't. I pay $85 for the digital package with HBO, $11.95 for the DVR, and $8.90 for the non-DVR-non-HD box in my bedroom. I have a third box (non-DVR-non-HD), in my living room connected to my Series 2 TiVo, but they're not charging me an outlet fee for that, though I suppose they are supposed to.

If I turned in the DVR and the third box that they're not charging me for, and asked instead for two cablecards for a single outlet, my bill would go down by $11.95 and then go up by $1.50.

You are effectively paying $18.95 a month for the DVR. For you, a TiVoHD is effectively free, because the present value of $18.95 a month for 36 months is $632.28 and the present value of $598 now + $1.50 a month is $648.05.

OK, here is how my cablecard installation went. To make a short story long … after purchasing and setting up the Tivo HD, I called Comcast and scheduled the cablecard install for the next morning (today). I asked the CSR if they had M-cards and she said she had not heard of them, but she knew they did not have them in my area (north of Denver). She was familiar with the Tivo boxes and noted that the first card would replace the existing HD box for no additional charge. The second card would be $1.50 monthly. The installation fee was a flat rate of $14.99. I was pleased with both the cost and the quick appointment.

The technician arrived and walked in carrying another HD box and asked where I wanted it to go. I explained that we were “returning” an HD box, in exchange for 2 cablecards to go in a Tivo HD (as I pointed proudly to my new device). OK, I have some cards in the truck, he said and then began unplugging both of our Comcast HD boxes on two different TVs. Wait, I said, we are keeping the Comcast DVR box and returning the standard HD box. Both of the cablecards go into the single Tivo HD box. Oh, OK he said. I have only installed one cablecard before, so I don’t know much about them.

Somehow feeling lucky, I again asked if Comcast had any M-cards. What’s an M-card, he said. I explained it is a multi streaming card that allows recording of two HD channels from a single cablecard. He called his tech support line on speaker phone to ask about the M-card. The guy on the phone was just as confused about the M-card and simply stated he had installed many cards into Tivo boxes, always using two cards. The tech then went to the truck and returned with the two cablecards. Low and behold, the first card he opened said “M-Card” right on the top of it. Trying not to laugh, I said, hmm, I believe that says M-card on it. It sure does he said, maybe you were right. Well, duuuhhhh (I didn’t actually say that). I think we should try both cards anyway, he suggested. Well, let’s give the first one a try and see what happens, I said. He plopped it in the Tivo, which immediately recognized it as a multi-stream card in slot 1. The tech called his support line again and yet a fourth Comcast person knew nothing about the M-card. The phone tech went ahead and activated it, while still questioning the validity of it’s multi-streaming capabilities. A few minutes later, I happily started recording two HD channels and gave the tech a quick demo by switching between them and displaying them both in the Now Playing list. Now at least one person at Comcast knows what an M-card is. Maybe I should bill Comcast for my educational services.

In less than 20 minutes everything was setup and working beautifully! Sorry folks, I gotta go now. With this luck, I am off to buy a lottery ticket today!

I'm in Northern CO as well and I'm glad to read of a positive experience. I just left Circuit City an hour ago with a TiVo HD tucked under my arm. On the way back to the office, I called Comcast to set up an appointment.

"Oh - CableCards? We only install those in televisions, not TiVos. Sorry."

I said, "I'm sure you're mistaken. Can you please connect me with someone who can help?"

I was placed on hold for most of the rest of my drive, and she came back on to tell me that indeed she discovered that she could have two CableCards installed in a TiVo, but only a Series3. Not wanting to discuss the similarities and differences of a Series3 versus the TiVo HD, I said, "Yes. Series 3. That's what I've got."

She asked me if I wanted HD cable cards and I said, "Yes!" (I thought they were all the same, but again I didn't want to argue.)

I, too, was told the first card was free and the second would be $1.50 per month plus $14.99 to install. I didn't dare even try to steer the conversation toward an M Card at that point. I'll eat the $1.50/month if they can just make it work.

So we're set up for an appointment on Tuesday afternoon. I wonder if I call the local office instead of the 800 number if I could get something over the weekend...

I did not cancel my HD/DVR box. I figure I'll wait until TiVo is working and then personally return it to the local office. No sense jinxing myself, right?

I love having a TiVo box! It will be like bringing an old friend home.

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I'm looking at Tivo as a premium since the cost will exceed what I pay for the Comcast DVR by a fair amount.

Just to keep your expectations in line with reality, please don't expect THAT much more from TiVo. The user-interface is better, and the hardware is a little more reliable, but it's really not THAT big of a difference. And as others have pointed out, the monthly pricing between the two services is now pretty comparable. The only real financial difference is the up-front cost of the box.

Just to keep your expectations in line with reality, please don't expect THAT much more from TiVo. The user-interface is better, and the hardware is a little more reliable, but it's really not THAT big of a difference. And as others have pointed out, the monthly pricing between the two services is now pretty comparable. The only real financial difference is the up-front cost of the box.

Well, I've already got a couple of beefs with the Tivo HD. Tuner quality, at least on the analogs doesn't appear to be as good as the Motorola box it is replacing.

Additionally the UI is very very slow. I remember the menu on my DirecTiVo box being a lot snappier.

The guide software on my Motorola box is definitely quicker, a lot quicker than the Tivo.

The primary reason I am making the move to the Tivo is expandable storage (I've already bought a 500GB drive for it) and hopefully more stability as the Moto box has complained about being full a few times (when it wasn't) and not taping a program.